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Development Level Title Description
Early CDPH HRD Recruitment and Hiring Tips and Tricks The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Human Resources Division (HRD) shares recruitment and hiring tips and tricks with an equity & diversity inclusive lens. This document includes information on crafting job descriptions, developing equity, diversity, and inclusive statements, and creative ways to promote job listings.
Early Health Equity Bank of Job Applicant Interview Questions List of health equity interview questions that can be asked for any position and desired skills and abilities to look for in a candidate.
Established Internship Program Example The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) offers paid internships for undergraduate and graduate students. Internships provide opportunities to work in a variety of different public health disciplines such as health education, epidemiology, health statistics, laboratory sciences, public policy, healthcare administration, human resources, information technology, data science, informatics, and communications.
Established State of CO: EDI Universal Policy Example of a Policy on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in State Employment (the State of Colorado).
Development Level Title Description
Early Public Health Alliance - Health Equity Coordinator Job Description An example of a Health Equity Coordinator job description from the Public Health Alliance of Southern California.
Established CDPH Office of Health Equity - Equity Officer Sample Duty Statements The CDPH Equity Technical Assistance (TA) Team created sample duty statements for different Equity Officer levels such as leadership, management, and coordinators. Additionally, this document includes links to Equity Officer job posting examples from various LHJs.
Development Level Title Description
Early Power-building Partnerships for Health: Lessons from Santa Barbara About Building Power to Protect Farmworker Health and Advance Health Equity This article highlights the importance of relationship building within Power-Building Partnerships for Health (PPH) and discusses Santa Barbara County Public Health Department’s collaboration with two community organizing groups.
Established Community Air Protection The Community Air Protection (SNAAQ) project, run by the California Air Resources Board, awarded Community Air Grants to nonprofits in North Sacramento, Oak Park/Fruitridge, and Meadowview to address air pollution. The project includes community-led air monitoring, multilingual engagement, youth education, and the development of neighborhood-specific air action plans. It emphasizes resident leadership and participatory budgeting to ensure that community voices shape local air quality solutions.
Established Transforming Our Communities Require Protecting our Climate Investments The California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) showcases how the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) program empowers environmental justice communities through large-scale, community-led climate investments. The article highlights how resident advisory groups in cities like Fresno, Ontario, Oakland, and Los Angeles have played central roles in shaping neighborhood-level sustainability plans. These groups ensure that funding decisions reflect local priorities, protect against displacement, and promote equitable development. In Southwest Fresno, for example, a resident-led steering committee directed a $70 million grant toward projects in West Fresno, one of the state’s most pollution-burdened areas
Established 2-1-1 San Diego - Connecting Partners through the Community Information Exchang Developed by 2-1-1 San Diego, this case study highlights the Community Information Exchange (CIE) data platform, which enables health and social services to obtain a better understanding of interactions across systems, agencies, and community services.
Established Arapahoe County, Colorado Resident Advisory Committee Arapahoe County launched the Investing in Arapahoe initiative following the voter-approved Measure 1A, which lifted revenue and spending limits. A 10-member Resident Advisory Committee (RAC) was established to ensure transparency and accountability, guiding investment decisions and serving as a liaison between the County and its residents. The webpage provides updates on funding allocations, budget priorities, and community engagement efforts.
Strong Health Equity in Erie County The Erie County Office of Health Equity (ECOHE) conducted a series of focus groups in 2023 to better understand the health and well-being of marginalized and underserved populations across the county. The report highlights community perspectives on the social determinants of health, including economic stability, education, neighborhood conditions, and access to care. In the Best Practices and Lessons Learned section, ECOHE emphasizes the importance of culturally responsive facilitation, building trust through community partnerships, and ensuring language accessibility. These insights are intended to guide future engagement strategies and improve health equity initiatives across Erie County.
Strong Leading Locally: A Community Power-Building Approach to Structural Change The Leading Locally Report, developed by the USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute and Lead Local, explores how community power-building drives structural change and improves health outcomes. Drawing from 16 place-based case studies across the US, including Santa Ana, CA, the report identifies best practices such as centering local leadership, investing in long-term organizing, and building cross-sector coalitions. Lessons learned emphasize the importance of aligning strategies with local histories and conditions, sustaining governing power beyond policy wins, and resisting top-down agendas that sideline grassroots voices. The report positions community power not just as a means to an end, but as a transformative outcome in itself.
Strong Resilience Hubs in Shasta County The month of July's Equity Learning Collaborative focused on resilience hubs in Shasta County. Learn from Shasta County’s Public Health Branch on how the resilience hub model can address equity in rural communities by providing essential resources and support, empowering local residents to drive solutions tailored to their unique needs.
Development Level Title Description
Early Co-Design of Services for Health and Reentry (CO-SHARE) This RAND study explores how Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD) can be used to improve health and reentry services for individuals returning to the community from jail in Los Angeles County. Through a collaborative process involving returning citizens and service providers, the project identified four high-priority areas for system improvement, including the prerelease process and post-release service coordination. Lessons learned emphasize the importance of building trust, adapting facilitation methods to empower participants, and addressing underrepresentation of certain groups. The study demonstrates how place-based, co-designed partnerships can inform more equitable and responsive service systems.
Strong Imperial County (ICPHD): Language Access RFP The Imperial County Public Health Department (ICPHD) actively engages community-based organizations (CBOs) and partners through ongoing collaboration efforts. ICPHD consulted CBOs during the Language Access RFP process to ensure the program effectively addresses the community’s linguistic needs, with CBO representatives also serving on the interview panel. These efforts strengthen relationships and promote inclusive, community-informed public health initiatives.
Strong Lake County, IL Builds Internal and External Bridges The Lake County, Illinois, Health Department’s Health Equity Team facilitates relationships with community, agency, and business partners and builds internal and external awareness to improve the social conditions that determine health. Activities included taking the NACCHO Roots of Inequity Course, a bus reality tour for leadership, and piloting a social determinants of health assessment tool.
Development Level Title Description
Early Examples of Communities Tackling Health Inequity The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine presents Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity, a landmark report that examines the structural factors driving health inequities in the United States and outlines actionable strategies for achieving health equity through community-led efforts. The report features nine in-depth case studies from across the country, including spotlights in Fresno and Oakland California. Fresno’s example illustrates how local coalitions can address entrenched disparities by focusing on environmental justice, economic opportunity, and civic engagement. The report emphasizes the importance of cross-sector collaboration, community empowerment, and policy change. Recommendations are included to guide public health professionals, policymakers, and community leaders in creating conditions where all people can thrive.
Established Profile: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf This example profiles Libby Schaaf, former mayor of Oakland, California, highlighting her evolution as a cross-sector leader committed to civic innovation and community service. A central feature of the article is Oakland Cares, a volunteer program Schaaf co-founded with her mother to connect busy professionals with one-time volunteer opportunities. This initiative served as a catalyst for Schaaf’s transition from corporate law to public service, illustrating how localized, accessible engagement can spark broader systems change. The profile traces her journey through nonprofit leadership and into government, emphasizing the role of cross-sector collaboration in addressing complex urban challenges. Reflections and recommendations are included to inspire leaders seeking to build community-centered programs that bridge sectors and scale impact.
Strong Rebuilding Neighborhoods Initiative The Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) presents Rebuilding Neighborhoods, a strategic initiative launched in 2020 to address the intersecting challenges of housing affordability and gentrification in Greater Boston. The initiative brought together community organizers, small business owners, and leaders from the technology and innovation sectors to co-develop equitable, community-centered solutions. The project aimed to articulate a shared vision for equitable housing, generate actionable recommendations, and establish metrics for progress. The guide highlights the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations and reframes the crisis as an opportunity for cross-sector collaboration to build more inclusive, resilient communities. Recommendations are included to support equitable development that centers the voices and needs of historically marginalized residents.
Strong Solano County Leverages Internal Champions and External Experts to Advance Equity The Public Health Division of Solano County, California, is leveraging the commitment of internal equity champions and the work of national organizations to address historically limited capacity and limited resources to focus on the social determinants of health. Together, the Public Health Division and its national partners are building internal capacity to advance equity in a county with urban, suburban, and rural areas.
Strong Creating a Cross Sector Leadership Network This is a case study on the James Irvine Foundation’s New Leadership Network, which explores the development of a cross-sector leadership initiative in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The article focuses on the challenges faced by communities in Fresno—such as high poverty, poor air and water quality, and limited philanthropic infrastructure—and the need for collaborative leadership to address these systemic issues. Through interviews with over 50 local leaders, the initiative uncovered barriers like siloed sectors and the exclusion of emerging nonprofit leaders from influential networks. The guide shares lessons on building trust, fostering civic innovation, and creating inclusive leadership structures that span government, business, and nonprofit sectors. Recommendations are included to support communities in designing leadership networks that can drive equitable, region-wide change.
Strong A Decade of Advocacy: The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments A Decade of Advocacy is a case study of the Strategic Alliance, a network of 15 California-based organizations that came together to promote healthy food and activity environments. This document provides a roadmap for effective collaboration, and highlights the impact a group of organizations can have when working together to effect change. The document answers a series of critical questions, including: What does it take to reframe the debate around community health and well-being from a focus on the individual to one that includes environmental influences, corporate practices, and government responsibility? What strategies hold the greatest promise for improving the landscape of opportunities wherein people make decisions about what to eat and whether or not to be active on a daily basis? How can advocacy groups work together to most effectively achieve shared goals?
Strong Supporting Safe and Affordable Housing in Alameda County, CA The Alameda County Public Health Department serves as an example for how to work across sectors (e.g., housing) in order to advance population health.
Development Level Title Description
Early Racial Equity Mission Statements This document, compiled by the Partnership for a Healthy Durham, contains racial equity mission and vision statements from various organizations located across the country.
Early Vermont Department of Health: Our Vision, Mission & Values The Vermont Department of Health incorporates equity into their mission, vision, and values statements. This can serve as an example of organizational commitment to equity for other state and local health departments.
Early Health Equity Team 2021 Year in Review This document is an end of the year equity celebration from Winnebago County, Wisconsin. The publicly posted review summarizes the health department’s mission statement, equity team accomplishments, equity internal infrastructure, community equity projects that the health department took part in, and goals for the next year. This is a great example that showcases commitment to equity and transparency.
Early Joint Organizational Commitment to Anti-Racism and Racial Equit The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), along with other public health organizations, commit to anti-racism and racial equity by publishing a joint organizational commitment statement. This document includes the purpose of addressing anti-racism, the agreed upon foundations of the approach to anti-racism and racial equity, and the commitments with specific activities on how to move forward.
Established New York State Department of Health: Health Equity Plan 2024-2025 The New York State Department of Health created the Health Equity Plan to be a guide for staff and is a step towards launching a Department-wide effort towards centering health equity as the foundation for everything we do in the Department.
Established Dane County Equity and Inclusion Plan As a show of commitment to equity, Dane County, WI compiles an equity and inclusion plan that details their organizational commitments, leadership development, program innovation, and resource mobilization. The guide states what county employees want to do in the future, a timeline for implementation, specific steps they will take, and a cost/benefit analysis of the actions.
Established Hennepin County Health Equity Assessmen The health department in Hennepin County, MN presents their adaptation of BARHII's equity assessment into a shorter (10-15 min) and more specific survey to be completed by individual staff members. The survey covers priority areas for staff capacity, strengths and challenges for the department, and overall capacity and desire to address the root causes of health inequity. Hennepin County also did a follow-up survey after one year.
Established Case Study: Boston Builds Capacity to Address Racism and Achieve Health Equity This case study outlines how the Boston Public Health Commission in Massachusetts ensured that their workforce reflected the populations they serve. This included developing an Anti-Racism Advisory Committee to prioritize workforce development, retention, and hiring practices that advance equity; conducting all-staff trainings; and adopting an organization Racial Justice and Health Equity Initiative.
Established National Association of Counties: County Declarations and Resources on Racis The National Association of Counties lists real-world examples of declarations of racism as a public health crisis. This resource includes 12 examples from California counties that have made declarations, as well as declarations from many other states.
Established Saint Paul- Ramsey County Public Health Health Equity Plan 2016-201 This health equity plan for Saint Paul- Ramsey County, MN discusses concrete equity activities for staff, supervisors, and leadership. The plan also comprehensively discusses internal capacity for equity, resources available for the county to integrate equity, sustainability of equity efforts (including career pipelines), and external equity efforts. Additionally, the plan presents the county’s health equity lens with instructions for those interested in using it in their departments, and their approach to Health in All Policies.
Strong Health Equity Action Plan Toolkit This Health Equity Action Plan Toolkit from Massachusetts includes an illustrative set of interventions, policies, and programs to help achieve a racially and ethnically equitable system in the state. Toolkit resources were identified through the landscape scan and interviews that providers, health care delivery system leaders, and other implementation stakeholders.
Strong National League of Cities: Repository of City Racial Equity Policies and Decisions The National League of Cities lists real- world examples of policy changes taken in order to advance equity. California is greatly highlighted in this list, with examples from Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Eureka, and San Gabriel, among others across the United States.
Strong Human Impact Partners: An Equity Lens Tool for Health Departments The Human Impact Partners’ equity lens for health departments is a comprehensive guide on how to apply an equity lens to organizational programs and policies. The guide has many sections that allow organizations to review and reflect on the impacts of their programs and how different disproportionately affected populations can benefit from equitable approaches.
Strong City of Madison Racial Equity and Social Justice Tool The City of Madison, WI presents a health impact assessment-style toolkit that digs deep into organizational policies and projects and finds opportunities to integrate health equity and racial justice. Focusing on who, what, when, where, why, and how, the tool allows you to separate out the populations that may benefit or be negatively impacted by a new project. The tool is presented in two forms depending on the capacity of the organization: a fast-tracked tool and a more comprehensive school.
Strong City of Ottawa Equity and Inclusion Lens Handbook 2018 Presented by the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, this guide takes an in-depth look at disproportionately affected populations in the community, analyzing the backgrounds of these populations and common inequities and barriers experienced by them. A vision statement is included for these groups, as well as descriptions of actions currently taking place to improve equitable outcomes for the populations.
Development Level Title Description
Early Health Equity Guide: Case Study Rhode Island Braids Funding to Create Health Equity Zone To address the social determinants of health, leaders of the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) utilized multiple sources of funding to establish “Health Equity Zones.” This case study highlights the ways in which RIDOH leaders increased access to funding and resources to its community partners to enhance population health outcomes.
Established San Mateo County Funds Community Implementation Projects to Advance Equity This case study highlights the Community Implementation Fund developed by the San Mateo County’s Health Policy and Planning Program (HPPP), which recognizes the active leading role of nonprofit organizations in addressing the social determinants of health. Through the Community Implementation Fund, funding priorities are redirected to more policy- oriented projects that improve overall community health outcomes and address inequities within the social determinants of health including housing, education, economics, and neighborhood conditions.
Established Solano County Leverages Internal Champions and External Experts to Advance Equit This case study highlights best practices for utilizing existing resources to build internal capacity to advance equity through three partnerships between Solano County Public Health and GARE, Human Impact Partners, and the National Organization of Urban Maternal and Child Health Leaders (CityMatCH).
Development Level Title Description
Early Health Equity Guide - Additional Resources This is a suite of resources intended to help health departments change internal practices and processes. Resources include Contracting for Equity, Developing an Equity Impact Statement, Equitable Hiring Handbook, and more.
Early Change Internal Practices & Processes As part of Human Impact Partners' Health Equity Guide, the Change Internal Practices and Processes strategy addresses how to change internal practices and align internal processes to advance equity. Difficult work must be done to reveal how current policies and practices support or impede equity, and barriers must be removed to advance equity work.
Early Rural Policymaking in Action Highlighting State Actions to Advance Rural Prosperity & Equity Part of ChangeLab Solutions’ "Toward Better Rural Futures" project, this resource has identified key policy efforts in several states that can serve as guides for strategic action at the state level. Examples include Kansas' Office of Rural Prosperity and Wisconsin's Community Development Investment Grant Program. Toward Better Rural Futures aims to foster greater collaboration and alignment across local, regional, and state levels of government.
Established Case Study: Harris County Institutionalizes Health Equity through Organizational Transformation This case study outlines how the Harris County Public Health Department (HCPH), Texas, developed and championed health equity-focused policies, structures, staffing positions, and trainings.
Strong Santa Clara Develops Infrastructure to Address Racial & Health Equity Example A case study examining how Santa Clara County Public Health Department in California is developing internal infrastructure to advance racial and health equity. Strategies include developing racial and health equity committees and workgroups, developing equity trainings for staff, and engaging community partners wherever possible. The outcomes and impacts of their work are also discussed.
Strong Imperial County (ICPHD): DEIA policy The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance for the inclusion of health equity principles in Imperial County Public Health Department policies, procedures, programs and services. It aims to create institutional changes in Department culture, program activities, and contracted work. This policy aligns with the mission, vision, and values of the Imperial County Public Health Department, its Strategic Plan and Code of Conduct Policy #1011, as well as with the national Ten Essential Public Health Services.
Strong Case Study: Cuyahoga County Uses Health Improvement Process to Lift Up Equity and Racial Inclusion https://healthequityguide.org/case-studies/cuyahoga-county-uses-health-improvement-process-to-lift-up-equity-and-racial-inclusion/
Strong Case Study: King County Transforms County Practice to Advance Equity The case study outlines how the city of King County created an interbranch team to focus on developing tools and policies to advance equity across all government departments.
Development Level Title Description
Early County Health Rankings & Roadmaps This website can serve as a resource or example of the type of data that can be collected for all counties. It doesn’t, however, address the barriers of collecting certain demographic data in smaller counties.
Established Oakland Equity Indicators - Measuring Change Toward Greater Equity in Oakland This Oakland Equity Indicators Report is an example of the type of analyses that can be developed after going through the data collection process. The city of Oakland showcases a quantitative framework for city staff and community members to understand the impacts of race, measure inequities, and track changes in disparities over time.
Development Level Title Description
Established King County Affinity Groups This example shows the Affinity Groups for the county staff in King County, Washington. This page lists the different groups, as well as mission and purpose statements. Forming affinity groups is a way to support diversity within your organization.
Established Nantucket Health and Human Services Department Workforce Development Plan This Workforce Development Plan from Nantucket, Massachusetts goes into topics broader than equity, but provides a great example of how to integrate diversity and equity priorities in workforce development. It also explores an equity needs assessment and equity training plans within its development plan.
Strong King County Racial Equity Caucusing Report, 2019 This is a summary of the Washington Department of Health affinity group project, including the purpose and mission of the groups, questions posed to each affinity group about their experiences, feedback from the groups, and how the initiative will impact the organizational anti-racism goals.
Development Level Title Description
Established Mobilize Data, Research, & Evaluation Case Studies from HealthEquityGuide.org This website showcases case studies of health departments that successfully mobilize data, conduct research, and develop evaluations within their departments and communities. There are case studies in all levels of our early, established, and strong spectrum, each with a description of factors that enabled the work, their impacts, and advice to replicate successful efforts. It includes five case studies from California LHJs.
Development Level Title Description
Strong Alameda County Advances Equitable Housing Policies This resource describes in detail how the Alameda County Public Health Department created housing policy change in order to advance health equity. The Alameda County Housing Workgroup is comprised of residents, community organizers and other stakeholders seeking to address housing inequities.